Yinglish
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Yinglish words are neologisms created by speakers of Yiddish in English-speaking countries, sometimes to describe things that were uncommon in the old country. This is the meaning of the term used by Leo Rosten in The Joys of Yiddish.
As a secondary meaning, Yinglish describes the distinctive way certain Jews in English-speaking countries add many Yiddish words into their conversation, beyond general Yiddish words and phrases used by English speakers. In this meaning, Yinglish is not the same as Yeshivish, which is spoken by many Orthodox Jews, though the two share many parallels.
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[edit] Yinglish bei Leo Rosten
Leo Rosten's The Joys of Yiddish uses the word Yinglish and Ameridish to describe new words, or new meanings of existing Yiddish words, created by English-speaking persons with some knowledge of Yiddish. The fact that donstairsiker is listed as Ameridish and its opposite opstairsiker is listed as Yinglish, coupled with the fact that no Yinglish word is suggested in The Joys of Yiddish to have arisen outside the United States of America, suggests that Ameridish and Yinglish are synonyms. The Joys of Yiddish describes the following words as Yinglish except where noted as Ameridish:
- alrightnik, alrightnikeh, alrightnitseh — male, female, female individual who has been successful; nouveau riche
- blintz (Yinglish because the true Yiddish is blintzeh)
- bluffer, blufferkeh — male, female person who bluffs
- boarderkeh, bordekeh — (Ameridish) female paying boarder
- boychik, boychikel, boychiklekh
- bulbenik (Ameridish) — an actor who muffs his lines, from bulba (literally potato, figuratively error)
- bummerkeh (Ameridish) — a female bum
- chairlady
- cockamamy false, ersatz, crazy (of an idea), artificial, jury-rigged (prob. from Eng. "decalcomania," a "decal," a sticker, a cheap process for transferring images from paper to glass.) In the Bronx, 1st half 20th century, a "cockamamie" was a washable temporary "tattoo" distributed in bubblegum packets.
- donstairsikeh, donstairsiker — female, male living downstairs
- dresske — bargain-basement dress
- fin — five, or five-dollar bill, shortened form of Yiddish finif (five)
- kosher ie— Yinglish not in its religious or Yiddish meanings, but only in five slang senses: Authentic; Trustwothy, reliable; Legitimate, legal, lawful; Approved by a higher source; Fair, fair and square, ethical, also in its pronounciation as "kōsher", whereas in Yiddish it is pronounced "Kūsher" or "Kösher"
- nextdoorekeh, nextdooreker — female, male living next door
- no-goodnik
- opstairsikeh, opstairsiker (Ameridish) — female, male living upstairs
- pisha paysha — corruption of English card game Pitch and Patience
- sharopnikel (Ameridish) — a small object that causes shutting up, e.g. a pacifier, teething ring
- shmegegge (Ameridish) — an unadmirable or untalented person
- shnuk (Ameridish)
- singlemon — single man
- shmo
- T.L. — tuches lecker or ass-kisser (literally, one who licks buttocks)
[edit] Yinglish words in the English-speaking-Jews-use-these-words sense
This list includes words from Yinglish in this secondary sense; many of these words have not been assimilated into English and are unlikely to be understood by English speakers who do not have substantial Yiddish influence. Leo Rosten's book, The Joys of Yiddish, explains these words (and many more) in detail, but excepting blintz. kosher used in English slang, and shmo, none them is described as Yinglish in that book.
- Aidim-- son-in-law
- A shande (Yid., אַ שאַנדע) — a disgrace; one who brings embarrassment through mere association (cognate with the German word Schande, meaning "disgrace")
- "A shande far di goyim" (Yid., אַ שאַנדע פֿאַר די גוים) — "A shame in front of the goyim," the scathing criticism of Judge Julius Hoffman by Abbie Hoffman during the trial of the Chicago Eight
- Ay-ay-ay (Yid., אײַ־אײַ־אײַ) (sometimes spelled "ai-yi-yi")
- Abi gezunt! (Yid., אַבי געזונט) — "As long as you're healthy!"; often used as an ironic punchline to a joke (abi, cf. Polish aby = "so that"; gezunt cognate with German gesund, "healthy")
- Abi Meleibt (Yid., אַבי מע לעבט) "At least I am alive"
- Aleichem shalom — "To you be peace" (the polite response to the greeting "Shalom aleichem")
- Alter kicker (or alter kocker) (Yid., אַלטער קאַקער) — a lecherous old man; an old fart (from German Alter "old" and kacker "crapper")
- Bagel (Yid., בײגל beygl) — a ring-shaped bread roll made by boiling then baking the dough; originating from Viennese German "Beugerl" a "bowed" piece of pastry)
- Bissel (Yid., ביסל) — a small amount, "a pinch of" something (cf. German bissel, a dialectal variant of the more standard bisschen, "a little bit")
- Blintz (Yid., בלינצע blintse) — a sweet cheese-filled crepe
- Bris — the circumcision of a male child.
- Boichika — Sweetheart.
- Bubbeh, bubbe, — grandmother; pronounced like "book", not like the Southern U.S. nickname (cf. the Slavonic baba, "old woman" with different overtones in different languages)
- Bubbameisse — Old wives' tale, cock and bull story, (often attrib. by erroneous folk etymology to combination of bubbe, "grandmother," and meisse, "tale", but in fact from "Bove-meisse," from the "Bove Bukh," the "Book of Bove," chivalric adventures of fictitious knight Sir Bevys ("Bove") of Hampton, first pub. in Yiddish in 1541 and continually repub. until 1910.
- Bubkes (also spelled "bupkis") — emphatically nothing, as in He isn't worth bubkes (literally "goat droppings", in Polish "bobki")
- Chalish-- literally, fainting, ("I was chalishing from hunger,")sometimes used as a term of desperate desire for something or someone ("After a thirty-six hour shift, I was chalishing to go home already.")
- Chazarai (Yiddish, חזירײַ khazerai 'filth' or, perhaps more literally, 'piggery', from חזיר khazer 'pig' from Hebrew חַזִיר "chazeer", pig) — junk, garbage, junk food
- Chepen-- to bother someone incessantly ("Stop cheppening me!") or to playfully banter with someone ("We spent the entire date cheppening each other about what bad taste the other one had.")
- Chiddush — a term used in the context of rhetoric and argumentation to mean a new forceful point brought into a discussion; the upshot or novel point made by an argument (from Hebrew Chadash, meaning 'new'); also used when you are making fun of someone for something entirely obvious. "Chiddush! Chiddush!"
- Chutzpah — (Yid. from Heb.חוצפּה khutspe) ballsiness, guts, daring, audacity, effrontery
- Dybbuk — (Yid. from Heb. דיבוק dibbuk, that which clings) the malevolent spirit of a dead person which enters and controls a living body until exorcised
- Dreck (Yid., דרעק from Ger. Dreck, "dirt") — Worthless material, especially merchandise; (vulgar) "crap"
- Ess (Yid., עס; cf. German essen, "to eat") — to eat, especially used in the imperative: Ess! Ess!
- Farbissen (far-BISS-en) (Yid., פֿאַרביסן; cf. German verbissen) — adj. Bitter; sullen; crippled by bitterness. Also farbissener.
- Farblondzhet (fer-BLUNJ-it) (Yid., פֿאַרבלאָנדזשעט; far- cf. German ver- and Polish błądzić = "to stray around") — lost, bewildered, confused, mixed-up (appropriately, there are several variant spellings)
- Fardrayt (Yid., פֿאַרדרײט; dray meaning turn, cf. dreidel; also cf. German verdreht = "twisted" ) — confused, mixed-up, distracted
- Farfrumt-- negative term for someone very religious or pious. "She came back from seminary and became all farfrumt."
- Fachnyok-- negative term meaning very religious, often used to connote someone holier-than-thou. Can be shortened to "chnyok," or used as a noun ("don't be such a chnyok") or an adjective ("you're so chnyokish").
- Farkakte (Yid., פֿאַרקאַקטע) — an adjective whose usage resembles English goddamn; literally, 'crapped' or 'becrapped', cf. German "verkackte(r)"
- Feygele or faygeleh — (pejorative) homosexual (literally 'little bird', cf. German "Vögele"), could be used for anyone slighlty effeminate, "Ugh, that, Moishele washes his hands, what a faygel." *NOTE* A Fayge is a bird, and is the basis of the female name Fayga. Such a person, as an infant, might be called Faygeleh, until later on being called Faygie.
- Fress — to eat, especially with enthusiasm (German fressen = "to eat like an animal, in an untidy way")
- Frimmer — (British English slang): a Hasidic Jew (from Yiddish "frum", religious; also cf. German "fromm" = pious)
- Gai vas-- literally "go know," as in "go figure." ("Last week she said she hated his guts and now she's engaged to him. Gai vais.")
- Gantze — all, the whole of ("the gantze mishpoche" = the whole family, etc., cf. German ganz = "whole, all")
- Gelt — money (German Geld with the same meaning), also chocolate coins eaten on Hanukkah (געלט gelt 'money')
- Genug (גענוג) — enough (German genug)
- Glick - a piece of good luck (German Glück)
- Glitch — a minor malfunction (possibly from Yiddish glitsh)
- Goilem or golem — a man-made humanoid; an android, Frankenstein monster, or an insult, suggesting that a person has no mental capacity
- Gonef or gonif (also ganiv) — thief (גנבֿ ganef. This can be used as a somewhat generic insult, implying a "lowlife" ) — the word has also been adopted from Yiddish into German as Ganove, also a thief {often figurative)
- Gornisht — nothing, not a bit, for naught (German gar nicht = not at all)
- Goy — Someone not of the Jewish faith or people; a gentile (גוי, plural גוים Goyim, Hebrew 'nation(s)', often referring to nations other than Israel, although the Tanach calls Israel the "goy koddesh", "the Holy Nation", so Israel is also a 'goy' ["nation" in the sense of "a people", not "a state"] ) "John Gross is on a date but he is so goy."
- Goyisher kop — fool or foolishness (lit. "Gentile head")
- Hegdesch — pigpen, often used to describe a mess (as in "your room is a hegdesch")
- Hock — Bother, pester (as in the character Maj Hockstetter from Hogan's Heroes; a hockstetter being someone who constantly bothers you) [from Hak mir kayn chaynik or "Stop clanking like a teakettle" from the old time pre-whistle teakettles whose tops clank against the rim as the pressure pushed them up and down.
- Heymish (also Hamish) — home-like, friendly, folksy (German heimisch)
- Ipish — a bad odor
- Kadoches — a fever; frequently occurs in oaths of ill-will (e.g., "I'll give him a kadoches is what I'll give him!)
- Keppe — head (e.g. I needed that like a lach en keppe, hole in my head; German "Kopf", coll. "Kopp" — "head"; German "Loch" - "hole")
- Keyn aynhoreh — (also pronounced: kin ahurrah) - lit., "No evil eye!" spoken to avert a curse after something or someone has been praised; the phrase has mutated into "Don't give me a canary!" in the Bronx
- Kibitz — to offer unwanted advice, e.g. to someone playing cards; to converse idly, gossip (Yiddish קיבעצען kibetsn), German thieves' jargon kiebitschen "to examine, search, look through", influenced by German Kiebitz (any of several birds called peewits [imitative]).
- Kife or kyfe — enjoyment
- Kitsch : trash, especially gaudy trash (German "Kitsch")
- Klop — a loud bang or wallop (German klopfen = "to knock")
- Klumnik-- empty person, a good-for-nothing (From Hebrew "klum," nothing.)
- Klutz — clumsy person (from Yiddish קלאָץ klots 'wooden beam') "Shloimy, you wear your hat like a klutz."
- Kosher — conforming to Jewish dietary laws; (slang) appropriate, legitimate (originally from Hebrew כּשר) see Yashrusdik.
- Krankhayt — a sickness (German Krankheit)
- Kvell (קװעל) — beam/ be proud
- Kvatch, kvetch — to complain habitually, gripe; or, a person who always complains, sometimes known as whinge (from Yiddish קװעטשן kvetshn and German quetschen 'press, squeeze')
- Latke — potato pancake, especially during Hanukkah (from Yiddish, from either Ukrainian or Russian)
- L'chaim — an expression of joy, the traditional toast "to life!"
- Litvak — a Lithuanian Jew
- lox — smoked salmon (from Yiddish לאַקס laks and German Lachs 'salmon') eaten with bagels.
- Macher (מאַכער) — lit. "doer, someone who does things", big shot, important person (e.g. within an organization) (German Macher = maker)
- Mameh-loshen — one's first or native language, literally from Hebrew, 'mother-tongue'.
- Mamish — really, very (an expression of emphasis)From the Hebrew "mamash"=substantially, "mamashut"=substance.
- Mamzer — bastard, literally or figuratively (from Hebrew ממזר)
- Maven — expert (from Yiddish מבֿין meyvn, from Hebrew mevin 'one who understands')
- Mazel (מזל mazl) — luck (literally, constellation of stars)
- Mazel tov! (מזל־טובֿ! mazl tov) — congratulations! (literally, 'good constellation' from Hebrew, meaning, May you be born under a good star, or at a good time. When you tell someone Mazel Tov, it is customary to shake hands.)
- Mechuteynesteh or Mechuten — your child's female or male parent-in-law
- Megillah — a lengthy document or discourse (from Yiddish מגילה megile, from Hebrew 'scroll')
- Mensch — an upright man; a gentleman; a decent human being (from Yiddish מענטש mentsh 'person') the generic term for a virtuous man or person; one with honesty, integrity, loyalty, firmness of purpose — a fundamental sense of decency and respect for other people (from German Mensch, meaning human being)[1]
- Meshuga / meshugge / meshugah / meshuggah (משוגען meşugn) : crazy (from Yiddish meshuge)
- Meshuggener — a crazy person (from Yiddish meshugener)
- Meshugaas — nonsense (lit. "crazy talk")
- Minyan — the quorum of ten adult (i.e., 13 or older) Jews (among the Orthodox, males) who are necessary for the holding of a public worship service
- Mishegoss - insane situation, irrationality (from Yiddish meshugas, from meshuge 'crazy')
- Mishpoche — family (from Yiddish משפּחה mishpokhe)
- Mohel — a professional religious circumciser (from Hebrew מוהל)
- Naches (נחת) — pride (usage: I have naches from you)
- Narishkeit — foolishness (German "närrisch" - foolish)
- Nasheray — snack food (German naschen - to snack, cf. German "Nascherei")
- Nebbish — a hapless, unfortunate person, much to be pitied; the one who cleans up after the schlemiel's accidents (from Yiddish nebekh)
- Nosh — snack (from Yiddish נאַשן nashn)Also a verb "Nu, stop noshing on that nosh."
- Nu — multipurpose interjection often analogous to "well?" or "so?"; of the same linguistic origin as English now (Russian "ну")
- Nudnik (נודניק) — pest, "pain in the neck", originally from Polish ("nuda" in Polish means "boredom"; nudziarz is the Polish word for the Yiddish nudnik)
- Oy -- (exclamation) Oh!
- Oy gevalt (אױ גװאַלד) - Oh no! (from Yiddish gvald 'emergency'). Cognate with German Gewalt "force, violence".
- Oy vey (אױ װײ) : (exclamation) Oh, woe! (Oh no! — literally, 'Oh, pain!', cf. German "Oh Weh!").
- Oy vey is mir — (exclamation) from אױ װײ איז מיר Oh, woe is me!
- Oyzteh — sweetheart, dear (from Hebrew Otzar, treasure)
- Pisher — a male infant; a little squirt; a nobody , (cf. South German "Pisch´n" = to piss)
- Potch — a light spanking or disciplinary slap, done usually by a parent to a child, and often taking place on the top of the hand or the buttocks.
- Plotz — to burst, as from strong emotion: "I was so angry, I thought I'd plotz!" (from Yiddish פּלאַצן platsn 'to crack', cf. German platzen)
- Punim — the face (Yiddish ponem, from Hebrew)
- Pupik — the navel; belly button (Polish pępek= the navel)
- Putz — unclean penis; stupid 'dirty' person, a jerk (from Yiddish פּאָץ pots)
- Schicker or schickered: drunk, intoxicated (from the Hebrew shikur - drunk, cf. German [coll.] angeschickert 'soused, tipsy')
- Schlemiel — an inept clumsy person; a bungler; a dolt (from Yiddish shlemil or shlimil from the Hebrew "Sh'aino Mo'eil" literally ineffective)
- Schlep — to drag or haul (an object); to make a tedious journey (from Yiddish שלעפּן shlepn and German schleppen)
- Schlepper bum
- Schlimazel / schlamazel : a chronically unlucky person (שלימזל shlimazl, from shlim 'bad' and mazl 'luck', from the Hebrew Sh'ain Lo Mazel literally Has No Luck); The difference between a shlemiel and a shlimazl is described through the aphorism, "A shlemiel is somebody who often spills his soup; a shlimazl is the person the soup lands on." One of the ten non-English words that were voted Words hardest to translate in June 2004 by a British translation company. Lyric following "schlemiel" in Laverne and Shirley theme (from Yiddish shlimazl cf. German Schlamassel)
- Schlock — A poorly made product or poorly done work, usually quickly thrown together for the appearance of having been done properly; "this writing is schlock." Something shoddy or inferior. (perhaps from Yiddish shlak 'a stroke')
- Schlong — Vulgar. penis (from Yiddish שלאַנג shlang and German Schlange 'snake')
- Schlub — a clumsy, stupid, or unattractive person.
- Schmaltz — excessive sentimentality; chicken fat or drippings used as a shmeer on bread (from Yiddish שמאַלץ shmalts and German Schmalz)
- Schmeer — as a verb, to spread, e.g. the cream cheese on your bagel; also, as a noun, that which you spread on something, e.g. "I'll have a piece of challah with schmeer." (from שמיר) (cf. German schmieren)
- Schmo — a stupid person. (an alteration of schmuck; see below)
- Schmooze — to converse informally, to small talk or chat. Can also be a form of brown-noseing (from Yiddishשמועסן shmuesn - cf. German schmusen).The word has been somewhat popularised by Sir Alan Sugar (a Jew himself) on the BBC TV series The Apprentice.
- Schmuck — a contemptible or foolish person; a jerk; literally means 'penis' (from Yiddish שמאָק shmok 'penis')
- Schmutz — dirt, often pertaining to petty household dirt(on the table, floor, clothes etc.) Also used metaphorically to the English equivalent; smut, sleaze (from German Schmutz)
- Schnook — an easily imposed-upon or cheated person, a pitifully meek person. a particularly gullible person. (from Yiddish שנוק)
- Schnor / Tsnorr — to beg.
- Schnorrer (שנאָרער) — beggar or person always asking others for hand-outs or services (cf. German Schnorrer, schnorren)
- Schnoz / schnozzle / shnozzle : a nose, especially a large nose. cf. English nozzle. (also spelled from Yiddish שנויץ shnoits 'snout', cf. German Schnauze 'snout')
- Schrai-- a shriek or wail, sometimes used to connote over-exaggerated hysterics. ("When I told her I'd be ten minutes late, she let out such a shrai!") (cf. German Schrei)
- Schtupp / schtuff : (vulgar) to have sex with, screw (from Yiddish שטופּן shtupn 'push, poke'; similar to 'stuff')
- Shep nachas-- take pride. Sometimes shortened to "shep." ("Your son got into medical school? You must be shepping.")
- Shtuch -- to put someone down, often facetiously ("I shtuched him out." Can be used as a noun to refer to a clever put-down or rejoinder ("When I told my father that my stupidity must be hereditary,it was such a good shtuch!").
- Shtotty -- fancy or elegant; may sometimes be perjorative ("She thinks she's so shtotty with that new dress of hers.")
- Schverr -- father-in-law (German Schwäher)
- Schvigger -- mother-in-law (German Schwieger)
- Shabbes goy — a Gentile who performs labour forbidden on the Sabbath for observant Jews; sometimes used (by implication) for someone who "does the dirty work" for another person (from Yiddish Shabbes, Sabbath + goy, a non-Jew)
- Shammes — the beadle or sexton of a synagogue (from Yiddish shames, an attendant) (originally from Hebrew שמש shamash 'servant')
- Sheygetz or shegetz (שגץ، שײגעץ) — (semi-pejorative) Gentile male
- Sheyne meydel — a beautiful girl (cf. German schönes Mädel)
- Shiksa (שיקסע) — (can be pejorative) a Gentile woman (the origin is much more offensive, meaning abomination)
- Shmatte — an old rag. Used literally: I spilled the coffee, bring me a shmatte, quick! Used figuratively (usu. derisively): That fancy dress she spent half her husband's money on just looked like a shmatte to me. (Cf. Polish szmata "rag, piece of cloth") Used ironically: "I'm in the schmatte business," meaning "I manufacture or sell clothing."
- Shmegege — a stupid person, a truly unlucky one; has been said to be the one who cleans up the soup the shlemiel spilled on the shlimazl.
- Shmendrik — ineffectual person
- Shpiel : a lengthy, often instructive talk (from Yiddish שפּיל shpil and German Spiel 'play')
- Shpilkes — upset stomach, or simply nervous energy; to be feeling "antsy", to be "sitting on pins and needles." Cf. Polish szpilka, "pin"
- Shtark, shtarker — strong, brave (German stark), a criminal
- Shtick — comic theme; a defining habit or distinguishing feature (from Yiddish שטיק 'a piece of something' — cf. German Stück, "piece"). In "delis," salami ends were sold from a plate on the counter labelled "A nickel a schtickel."
- Schtick'l — a little piece of something, usually food. Dim. of stick, from German Stŭ
- Shtum — quiet (שטום shtum 'mute') (German stumm)
- Shvartzer — (שװאַרצער) — Black person (possibly derogatory) (from שװאַרץ shvarts 'black', German schwarz)
- Shvitz — A steam bath (German Schwitzen = to sweat). Also used for sweat or some kind of dirt/filth.
- Takeh-- really, totally. "This is takeh a problem!"
- Tchotchke — knickknack, trinket, miscellaneous curios of no obvious practical use (from Yiddish טשאַטשקע tshatshke and possibly from a Ukrainian word for toy) May be used to refer to pretty women.
- Tornig — a disobedient nephew
- Traif (or trayf) — forbidden, non-Kosher foods; anything forbidden (from Exodus 22:30, technically referring to an animal with any of a specific group of physical defects making it inedible)
- Tsimmis — a fuss, a disturbance. "Don't make a big tsimmis!" Also, a kind of stew.
- Tsim gezunt — to [your]health! Used as a response to a sneeze; German "gesund" — "healthy")
- Tuchas or tochis — buttocks (from Yiddish תּחת tokhes)
- Tummle - excitement.
- tummeler — raucous comedian, e.g. Jerry Lewis, Robin Williams, from vaudeville and the Catskills Borscht Belt origin from the English tumult.
- Tsaddik — Pious, righteous person; one of the 36 legendary saints for whose sake God does not destroy the world
- Tsuris — troubles (from Yiddish צרות tsores)
- Ungershpart - Stubborn
- Verklempt — choked with emotion (German verklemmt = emotionally inhibited in a convulsive way; stuck)
- Vilde chaya — impolite or undisciplined child, literally, wild beast
- Yekke — A German Jew
- Yenta or yente — a talkative woman; a gossip; a blabbermouth; a scold
- Yichus — pedigree, family background, an advantage
- Yiddisher kop — intelligence (lit. "Jewish head"; German "Jüdischer Kopf" — Jewish head)
- Yiddisher Mama — a stereotypical Jewish mother
- Yiddisher mazel — bad luck (lit. "Jewish luck")
- Yontiff — a Jewish holiday on which work is forbidden, eg. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Pesach (from the Hebrew "Yom Tov", Good Day, or Holiday)
- Zach-- thing or item. When used with "gantze," can refer to an event or story, i.e. "The ganztze zach only took two hours."
- Zaydeh (or zayde) — grandfather (possibly a Slavonic word, cf. Polish dziadek, meaning "grandfather")
- Zaftig or zoftig — plump, chubby, full-figured (German saftig, meaning juicy), especially with a child or an attractive woman
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Yinglish in Ethnologue
- Jewish Language Research Website: Yiddish
- On-line Yiddish dictionary
- National Yiddish Book Center
- Shtetl
- A nice list of choice Yiddish/Ameridish words.
- The Jewish Book Center of The Workmen's Circle
- The Spoken Yiddish Language Project (Columbia University)
- The Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring
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